The suspect in the assassination of Charlie Kirk is reported to be in custody. President Trump made the announcement earlier this morning.
“With a high degree of certainty, we have him in custody…Everyone did a great job. We worked with the local police, the governor, everybody did a great job, you know, getting somebody that you start off with absolutely nothing,” the President said on Fox & Friends.
A law enforcement official reports the suspect is a 22-year-old from Utah. According to AP, the official says authorities have identified the suspect as Tyler Robinson. The official was not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation and spoke on the condition of anonymity.
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Trump went on to share more details about how the suspect was taken into custody.
“Somebody that was very close to him said, ‘Hmm that’s him,’ and essentially went to the father and went to a U.S. Marshal…and the person was involved with law enforcement, but was a person of faith, a minister, and brought him to a U.S. Marshal, who is fantastic, and the father convinced the son, ‘This is it,'” Trump explained.
The president’s statement comes after authorities were able to track the suspected shooter’s movements on campus, saying he fired from a rooftop overlooking the courtyard where Kirk was speaking.
Newly released video shows what they believe is the suspect’s escape. Showing him jumping down from the roof and moving across a parking lot.
On Thursday, Vice President JD Vance was seen escorting Charlie Kirk’s body onto Air Force Two after visiting with his widow.
PHOTO: Vice President JD Vance, Second Lady Usha Vance, and Erika Kirk, holding a cross on a chain, deplane Air Force Two in Phoenix, carrying the body of Charlie Kirk, who was shot and killed. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
President Trump says he’s worried about the state of the country, but urged his supporters to respond to the assassination the way Kirk would have.
“He was an advocate of non-violence. That’s the way I’d like to see people respond,” Trump said.
Counter-terrorism expert John Cohen, with the Center for Internet Security, says that unless America returns to a sense of civility, attacks like this will continue.
“We are a very divided nation, and it’s not just that people tend to disagree with each other, but they are increasingly viewing those that disagree with them, or that they disagree with, as the enemy. We are seeing an increase in the number of individuals who are willing to use violence as a way to express their political ideological views or to express their sense of grievance…The solution to this problem is bringing back civility, and in a sense, more of a calm nature to our public discourse,” Cohen told CBN News.
Authorities are urging the public to take a break from social media, warning there’s a large amount of disinformation being shared online, with bots from Russia, China, and other countries trying to encourage violence.
PHOTO: Utah Valley University students embrace during a vigil on Sept. 11, 2025, for Charlie Kirk, the CEO and co-founder of Turning Point USA who was shot and killed in Orem, Utah. (AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson)
